Finding a home
by LotteSweety
Summary: Hi! This is my first story on Once upon a time. After season 5, all was well in Storybrooke. Up until one girl from the outsideworld steps over the town line. Who is she? And how was she able to cross that line? I hope you like it! xx


Hello everyone! This is a story based on the show Once Upon A Time. It's seven years after the fifth season. All has been well for a long time now. I hope you enjoy my story as much as I enjoyed writing it! xxx

Fanfiction: Finding a home

Chapter 1

She looked at the sign saying: 'Welcome to Storybrook' with a curious look in her eyes. What a strange name: Storybrook. What would she find behind that sign, inside the town. She was intrigued on finding out. She set a step towards the town line. While holding her breath she stepped over the white paint. She was in town. And with every new city, town or country she entered, she followed the same plan and the same steps. Step one: find a place to stay. She walked along a long road that led her towards the main street. She looked around while she made her way to the centre of the little town. Her eyes took in as much as possible. On her left side, she saw a dark and smoky bar named 'The Rabbit Hole', a weird looking shop, a lovely looking creamery. A little bit further, children were playing behind the fences of a local school. She stopped to look at the school for a while. She immediately felt safer in this small town just because there was a school. She didn't know why. Was it the teachers? The kids? She saw a short haired lady standing on the playground. _Probably a teacher_ , she thought. She kept her eyes on the teacher as she moved along, which caused her to bump into someone. Totally unaware of the person walking by they hit so hard, she fell backwards to the ground. If it weren't for her backpack she could have been injured. _Look where you walk, you idiot_ , she told herself. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Are you okay? I wasn't looking. It's my fault", she said, trying to get on her feet again.  
"That's okay, I really should learn to look where I walk", She heard a young man's voice say. "Are you okay?"  
She looked at him and grinned. "That's what I tell myself each time this happens. And I'm fine, thank you." She took the hand he had reached out and got back on het two feet. She brushed her ginger hair out of her face. She looked at him and found out he had beautiful brown eyes. Just a few shades lighter then hers. His dark brown hair jumped all over the place because of the heavy wind that day.  
"So this isn't the first time this happened to you?"  
She smiled and raised her eyebrows. "This happens way too much. I guess I'll never learn." He smiled back at her.  
"Do you live in Storybrook? I've never seen you before."  
"No, I don't. I'm only passing by. You wouldn't happen to know a place in town where I could stay the night, would you?" She didn't notice the surprised look on the young man's face when she told him she didn't live in this town.  
"I actually do know a place. It's not far. I can take you there if you want." He pointed at a place further down the main street.  
"That would be nice, thank you," she sighed. "I'm Lauren, by the way", she said as she pulled her backpack closer to her back.  
"I'm Henry", he said leading her the way to a tiny diner which he called 'Granny's'.

Inside the diner, she noticed the lovely smell of cinnamon. She hadn't realised how hungry she was up until now. She turned to Henry and thanked him for showing her the way.  
"You're welcome", he answered shrugging his shoulders. "So, I'll be heading off home then. If you need anything, you can ask Granny or Ruby."  
Lauren nodded gratefully. "Thank you again. It was nice meeting you."  
"Have a nice day," he said as he walked out the door.  
Lauren followed him with her eyes. Outside the diner he turned his head and waved at her through the window. She smiled and turned towards the bar. An older woman was smiling at her with a grin on her face while she was pouring coffee into two mugs. "How can I help you?" She asked with a loud and sturdy voice.  
"I am actually looking for a place to stay the night. Can you help me?"  
"Yes, I can. Ruby!" The woman called in a young beautiful brunette to take over the diner while she showed Lauren the available rooms upstairs. "There are four rooms available. You can choose one, but you better make it quick, it's extremely busy in the diner." The woman planted her fists on her hips. "Which one will it be?"  
"I'll take this one right here." Lauren pointed at the door closest to her. The older women gave her the key and took Lauren back to the diner.  
"How many nights will you be staying here, miss…" she asked with a questioning look on her face.  
"Brown. Lauren Brown. You can call me Lauren if you want to. And I'll only be staying here one night."  
"Okay, Lauren, you got yourself a room for one night."  
Lauren paid, asked for a hot coco with cinnamon and went to sit at the only empty table left in the diner. _Guess it really is the busiest time of the day_ , she thought to herself. She was looking forward to the hot coco with cinnamon. It had been the longest while since she had this sweet hot drink. It reminded her of her grandmother, who past away two years ago. Lauren had needed a lot of time to grieve, for her grandmother practically raised her. Her parents were adventurers. They couldn't stay at one place for too long. So after having spent twelve years moving from place to place, her parents finally let her stay with her grandmother for six years. They weren't bad people. She loved her parents very much. But she didn't have the need to move to another place every six months like they did. After her grandmother died, she packed up her backpack, sold the house and left. She knew she couldn't stay there anymore. It wasn't home, when her family wasn't there. So she had been traveling around the world just like her parents for two years now. Searching for a home. Searching for a family. The older lady came back to her with a damping mug of hot coco. "Here you go, and I almost forgot to tell you. You can call me Granny."  
"Thanks, Granny, this smells lovely." Lauren breathed the warm Christmassy smell in.  
"Well, I can tell you this much, it's the best hot coco in town. I can't help but wonder. Are you from around here?"  
"No, I'm just passing by."  
Granny stared at her with an uncomprehending look in her eyes. Only for a few seconds. "Oh. Enjoy your coco." She hurried behind the bar and into what Lauren supposed was the kitchen.

Lauren stayed at the diner for a little while longer. When her mug was empty, she went to her room, took a nice long shower and put on some joggings and a tank top. On bare feet she walked across the room and switched on the radio. She hummed along with Coldplay as she emptied her backpack. She put her fresh clothes on the chair next to the bed for the next day and reminded herself to take her dirty laundry to the washer. She gathered her laundry in a bag and opened the door. She could have sworn she almost had a heart attack seeing the stranger standing outside her door, her fist ready to knock. Lauren closed her eyes and exhaled.  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." The dark haired lady said with a deep voice. She smiled a friendly and apologizing smile.  
"That's okay. I was just about to do my laundry. I'm sorry I'm not dressed for visitors."  
"Oh, no problem. This isn't going to take long. See, my name is Regina Mills and I'm the mayor of this town. I heard you were passing by and I wanted to personally welcome you to our little town."  
"Oh. Uhm… Thank you. How unusual."  
"Well, we don't see many tourists here in Storybrooke. So if we do, we try our hardest to make shore they are well taken care of." While saying that Regina Mills inspected Lauren from her head to her bare feet and back up.  
"That is comforting, thank u. I am surely well taken care of. I understand the news travels fast in this town?"  
"Yes, it does. But you do have to know that Henry, the boy you met earlier, is my son. So that probably explains the fact that I already knew you were here two hours after your arrival."  
"Yes, that probably explains it." Lauren didn't know why she suddenly felt so uncomfortable.  
"Granny told me you're only staying one night."  
"Yes that's true. I'm only passing by."  
"Really? Where are you going?"  
"Nowhere in particular."  
"Where do you come from?"  
"Every corner of the world." Lauren shook her shoulders.  
"Oh, lovely. Well, it was nice meeting you, miss. I'll leave you to your laundry then." Regina Mills left the hallway. Lauren went back in her room and closed the door. She had the feeling something was going on. The mayor looked far too interested in her. And everyone asked so many questions. Especially the question 'are you from town' bothered her. Why would she hire a room if she was living in Storybrooke? She shook her head and her shoulders and let it go. She took her laundry bag and went down the stairs on her bare feet.

The next morning she put on a fall dress, tights and a long wool sweater. She walked down the stairs to the diner thinking it wouldn't be that crowded. She was wrong. It looked like the whole town decided that a breakfast at Granny's was perfect idea for a Saturday morning. Overwhelmed by the mass as she was, she did notice how several people stared at her just like the mayor did the other day. She worked he way to the counter and asked Granny for oatmeal and a glass of water. Almost immediately Ruby presented her breakfast. Lauren was almost scared to take a bite, because she could feel the eyes staring at her. She turned around and everybody looked the other way. _Very strange,_ she thought suspiciously. Another woman came up to her, but she recognized the shorthaired lady from the primary school she passed by. She sat down next to Lauren and just smiled. For seconds. These could have been the longest seconds Lauren had ever experienced. "Hi", she eventually said.  
"Oh, hello. I'm sorry for all the stares. It's not quite common to meet a stranger in this town."  
Lauren immediately felt reassured by the soft and caring voice that could only come from a teacher.  
"Yes, the mayor already told me yesterday."  
"Oh, so you already met Regina. She is a great mayor. She really keeps this town a safe place to stay."  
"I bet she is. So, are you a teacher? I saw you on the playground when I walked along down main street." Lauren started eating because if she didn't, she would faint. She always had to have breakfast right away in the morning.  
"Yes, I'm a teacher in primary school. I think I saw you two yesterday. Didn't you bump in to Henry?"  
"Yes… I did. I really hoped no one had seen that."  
"I won't tell a soul. He's my grandson. I'm Mary Margaret, by the way." Mary Margaret smiled her most comforting smile.  
"Wow, you are a very young grandmother." Right after she said it, a man came in between and turned to Mary Margaret. "Shouldn't we go pick up Neal? Belle has been babysitting long enough now." Mary Margaret looked confused but followed her husband. Or at least Lauren thought he was the teachers husband.  
"Okay, it was nice meeting you", she said before leaving the diner. Lauren finished her oatmeal, went upstairs and put her running clothes on. She needed some fresh air. So she ran to the dock. She would've kept running close to the water if it weren't for the cute couple sitting on the edge of the dock. It looked like they were on a breakfast date. She didn't want to disturb them so she ran into the forest. She always told herself that she loved being alone. With no one around her to disturb her. But every time she caught herself feeling lonely. So she ran up to a park with a playground for kids, hoping for some faces to see or some voices to hear. But no one was there. A little further down the path there was a platform in the form of a castle standing separated from the other playground. Someone was sitting on top of the castle. She ran a little further and found that it was Henry. She waved and ran over to his castle. "Hi!" she said raising her voice so that he could understand her. He waved back at her. "What are you doing?" She asked, putting her fists on her hips.  
"Enjoying the view! You should come and see it for yourself!" He shouted back at her. He didn't have to ask her twice. She quickly climbed up the ladder and up on the rooftop. She sat next to him and what she saw was just magical. The colours in the sky on this bright and fresh Saturday morning were a true piece of art. If she could have drawn, she would've drawn this spectacle. The wind played with her hair and blew it in her face. She tried to tuck it away behind her ears, but it didn't help that much. For several minutes they didn't say anything.  
"It's breath-taking isn't it?" He asked her leaning backwards on his elbows.  
"Yes, it is. You don't get to see this every day." She pulled her knees up and rapped her arms around them. She rested her chin on her knees, while keeping her eyes on the horizon.  
"So… You're leaving town today?" he asked casually.  
"Are you so eager to see me go?" She asked laughing.  
"No, that's not what I mean. I heard-"  
"I know what you mean. And as an answer to your question: I was planning on leaving. But now…"  
"If you could stay one more night I could take you to the movies. Is that a good enough reason to stay?"  
Once again overwhelmed she smiled at him. "Is the mayors son asking me out on a date?"  
"Yes. You've already seen my castle", he pointed at the roof, "it's time for me to show you the rest of my kingdom." He grinned again in the most adorable way.  
"Well, I'd be honoured." She answered full of dignity.  
"I'll pick you up at seven thirty if that's alright with you."  
"That would be lovely." Chapter 2

Lauren had decided to stay in town for a week. That way she would be able to work on her blog and her new travel article and for a whole week she would be able to eat the most amazing food she ever tasted. With the little make-up she had packed in her backpack, she accentuated her eyes. She put on the fall dress and the tights she wore this morning. _It's just a casual date_ , she reminded herself. _No need to go over the top_. Someone knocked on the door. She answered it and saw Henry standing on the doorstep with a bouquet of wildflowers in his hands. "Come in", she said taking over the flowers. "For you, milady", he said with a grin.  
"Well, thank u my prince", she answered playfully. "Come in, I'll put them in a vase. I'm almost ready, I just need to find my shoes. God knows where I put them this time." _Stop rambling_ , she told herself.

"Take your time, there's no need to hurry", Henry said. He put his hands in his pockets and looked around the room. It was slightly messy, although she had only been here for two days. Her clothes lay on a chair near the bed. Her sheets lay all over the bed. On top of those sheets she had planted her laptop as if she had been working while sitting in her bed. On the screensaver of her laptop he saw pictures of her when she was younger, but most of all photos of some of the nicest views he'd ever seen. In the corner of each picture he found her signature. _A photographer_ , he thought. But his thoughts were interrupted by her voice. "I'm ready. I found my shoes, I must've kicked them off right when I got here."  
He looked at her and just smiled. He didn't know what to say. _Think, you imp, think_.  
"Am I talking too much. 'cause You can tell me if I am."  
"No, absolutely not! I happen to be a great listener." He added to make the worry disappear out of her eyes. "Are you ready to see my amazing kingdom?" He said with a worthy voice as he offered her his arm to hold.  
"I am", she said taking his offer and putting her arm around his.

He took her to a Disney movie, which (off course) made her cry like a baby. When the movie had ended, he had offered her a handkerchief to dry her cheeks an her eyes. "Thank you", she said as she wiped away her tears. "I loved the movie, I really did."  
"Are you okay?" He asked it so concerned that she immediately started laughing. "Yes! I am, really. It's just Disney, you know. They know how to get the waterfalls flowing", she grinned. "Don't worry, I'm okay. And I really loved the movie." She smiled gratefully and put her hand on his arm to reassure him that she was fine. His eyes were still a little suspicious, but he seemed to have decided to let it go. "Would you like to go for a walk? I can show you the most beautiful places in town." Just like before, he offered her his arm. She gratefully put her arm around his.  
"I would love that."

As they walked through town he told her stories about Storybrooke. He showed her where he lived, the Toll Bridge, a well in the woods and many other little places in town. She noticed that he never mentioned his youth or his past. He did mention his mom, the mayor. That made her think about what Mary Margaret said back in the diner.  
"I spoke to your grandmother this morning. You probably have the youngest grandmother I've ever known." She noticed him grow numb for just a second. Casually he answered: "Regina is my adoptive mother."  
"Oh. That explains a lot." She nodded.  
"My birthmother lives here two."  
"What?! That is a… rare situation."  
"It's a long story. I went looking for my birthmother when I was eleven and I got her to come live in Storybrooke. Now I have two moms."  
"And Mary Margaret is your birthmothers mother. I get it. Your birthmother must be really young, then." She speculated.  
"Yeah, she kind of is. Would you like to get something to drink at Granny's to end the night of?"  
"Okay." They changed direction and walked straight to the diner. On the way over there, Lauren basically told him her whole life. Sitting at a table for two, they each ordered a hot coco with extra cinnamon. She wasn't shore if she should ask him about the stares or not. She didn't want to seem paranoid. She decided that she could only try. "Can I ask you a weird question?"  
"Shore." He answered expectantly.  
"Do you know why everyone stares at me like I'm from a different world or something? I know not many tourists come here, but I can't help but feel like there is more to it than that."

He didn't know what to say. He should have never asked her on a date. How could he explain the stares of all the Storybrooke citizens, without telling her the whole story? "I… think they just aren't used to strangers." He heard himself say. But how could he expect her to believe him, when he didn't even believe it?  
"Never mind. I'm probably just imagining things." After saying that, she finished her hot coco and got up from her chair.  
"I'll walk you upstairs." He hurried up and walked her to her room. "Here we are. I hope you had a nice evening."  
"Of course I did! I had a wonderful night. Thank you for asking me out. We should do this again sometime." She smiled at him. She probably expected him to ask her out on another date, or to promise to call her. If he asked her number, he did get some more time to think about it. A decision was made. "Can I have your phone number?" He offered her his phone.  
"Yeah, sure", she took his phone into her hands and dialled her number into his phone. "Here you go." She gave the phone back.  
"Thanks. I guess I'll call you then."  
"I hope you will. Thanks again for the great night." She kissed him on the cheek to thank him.  
"You're welcome." He liked her smell. It made him think of flowers and candy. "I will see you around then?"  
"Yes, you will."  
"Goodnight."  
"Goodnight." She closed the door behind her. He got downstairs and out of the diner.

Lauren immediately opened a window to get some fresh air. She liked him. She really really liked him. But something was going on. After she had asked him about the stares, he got nervous. Like he was hiding something. Through the open window she heard clear voices. She heard those before. They came from Henry and Regina Mills standing outside Granny's.

 _Are you out of your mind?  
Mom, she's just a girl.  
Who crossed the town line without blinking an eye.  
Maybe there is something wrong with the cloaking spell. Or maybe-  
Or maybe she isn't just a girl! The only ones that are able to cross that line are the ones with the spell on the scroll or Gods! Or maybe she has magic herself. Who knows? Nobody, because we don't know who she is!  
That's what I'm trying to find out! Calm down, mom. Maybe there's a whole other explanation for what happened. Maybe she had nothing to do with it. So if you could just take a look at the town line, then I will find out who she is. Alright?  
I don't want you to be alone with her.  
If she would have wanted to kill me, she already would have done that, mom.  
Still, I want you to be careful, okay?  
I always am, mom.  
Comon, lets go home. _

Lauren heard them walk away. Her chest was going up and down at an abnormal speed. Her heart was beating in her chest like a wild animal. _Spells, magic?_ What did they mean with her wanting to kill Henry? She was so scared, she didn't sleep one minute that night.

Chapter 3

Henry walked in at Granny's and found Lauren sitting at a breakfast table all alone. He walked right up to her and sat down in front of her. "Hey", he said cheerfully.  
"Hello." Her eyes looked tired and her hair was put together in a messy bun on top of her head.  
"You look tired." His concern grew as he saw the confused look in her eyes take over.  
"I heard you and your mom talk outside Granny's the other night. I heard all kinds of things… I don't understand. What is this place? Why can't anyone cross that line? Why-"  
"I don't know what you're talking about." His mind was working full speed. What else did she hear? How could he make her believe that she misunderstood the whole conversation he and his mother had had the other night. Lauren just sat there with her eyebrows lifted up. "Yesterday I walked home and got in to bed. I didn't see my mother because she was on a date with Robin H… With my stepdad."  
"You seriously want me to believe I imagined all of it? That I imagined your mother telling you to stay away from me for god knows what reasons! Because I might kill you?" She snapped. Her lips were trembling. He could have sworn he saw some disappointment in her eyes as she got up from her chair. "Well I'll make it easy for you. I'm leaving today." She went up the stairs making a lot of noise. He even heard her slamming the door in her room. He looked around him to check who saw the what happened. He saw Granny and Ruby looking at him like he did something terribly wrong. "What?" He asked them indignantly. Ruby made her way over and sat down next to him. "You honestly thought she was going to believe that?"  
He sighed. "What was I supposed to do? Tell her the truth? Make her leave? If you have an idea for a solution, you can just spill it out. I'm out of ideas." Suddenly they heard a high fearful scream. He knew something was wrong. Henry's heart pounded in his chest as he quickly climbed the stairs up to the first floor. He opened the door (luckily she didn't lock it) and his heartrate went even higher. She was laying on the floor with her arms around her head, shaking, rocking herself back and forth on her side. Henry looked around the room to check if it was safe. He didn't see anything, but the opened window and made his way over to her as quickly as possible. He gently put his hand on her arm to calm her down. His heart flinched when she crouched at his touch. Something frightened her. "Lauren, it's me. Henry."  
"Go away. Please, just go away." She mumbled it over and over.  
Trying to calm her down, he scooped her up and took her into his arms. "Easy. You're okay. It's going to be okay." He saw Ruby standing in the doorstep. "Call my grandmother and Belle. And get her some tea."  
"Sure." Ruby said and quickly left the room. He kept whispering comforting words to the trembling person laying in his arms completely in shock. He felt her arms locked around him, as if her life depended on it. Yes, something frightened her. And he could bet there was magic involved.

As soon as Mary Margaret came into the room, she ran up to them and asked what had happened. He wasn't surprised to see David, Emma, Killian, Belle, Regina and Robin come through the door as well. Once a family, always a family. Mary Margaret leaned over and spoke with a soft high voice as if she was speaking to a child. "Lauren, honey. It's okay. You are safe now. We need you to tell us what happened. Can you do that? Can you do that for me, Lauren?" Henry felt Lauren freeing herself from his grip. First she looked down, but the she looked up and showed her angry eyes. "Wat is going on? Something isn't right. All these people asking questions, staring and you saying I might kill Henry! What is going on?" She waited and looked everyone, one by one in the eyes. Emma started by introducing herself. Saying she was the daughter of Mary Margaret and David. Then she explained what happened in the enchanted forest. She explained everything. "I know it must be hard to believe, it was hard for me two." Emma looked at Lauren with understanding eyes. Regina sat down on her knees. "I can make this all go away. So you don't remember a thing. You'll leave Storybrooke and you'll never even think about this again. It only takes a second." Before anyone could object, she waved her hand. Everyone looked at Lauren with expecting eyes. They all held their breath. "How are you feeling, Lauren?" Mary Margaret asked.  
"I'm still as miserable as five seconds ago." Henry looked at his mother, who was rubbing her hands. "Why isn't this working?" Regina glanced at Belle, who spread her arms. "I think there is only one explanation. Her memories already have been taken away. At this moment, she is under a spell."  
Emma got up from the bed and ordered Killian to get some dreamcatchers from their house.  
"Wait", Lauren said. "I was attacked. By a black monster. If flew through the air and had these shining red eyes." A fury, Henry recalled. "Please, give me my memories back." Lauren added. Everyone could see that she was terrified. Henry was surprised with how Lauren handled all this new information.  
"We are not doing this here. It's far too dangerous. We're taking her to my office. At least we got some sort of protection there." Regina looked at Lauren. "Is that okay for you?"  
Lauren nodded weakly. Henry took her hands and helped her up. Her hands squeezed in his as she stood up. She pulled them away from him and lay one hand on the left side of her body. As if she as electrocuted she pulled her hand back. "What's wrong?" He sked her, getting closer to her to take a look.  
"Nothing", she said as she walked around him, out the door, right behind Regina and Robin.

In the office almost everything was black and white. Emma was following every step Lauren took. Every move, every look. That girl was hiding something. But what? "What are you hiding?" The bode asked directly.

Lauren felt all eyes on her. "I'm not hiding anything", Lauren said quite convincing. But Emma had a gift. So she knew Lauren was laying. "You are laying. I can tell. What is going on."  
Out of the blew Henry spoke. "It's her left side. Something is there. I know it." Lauren shut her eyes down. What was happening? She didn't know what to do. Luckily, Mary Margaret saw what went through Laurens head and sat down next to her. "It's okay", she whispered. "Can I take a look? I promise I'll be gentle."  
Lauren nodded as there was not much else she could do. And she wanted to know what hurt so bad on her left side as well. Mary Margaret gently pushed Laurens shirt up and squeezed her eyes together. Regina stood behind Mary Margaret to see for herself and frowned. She beckoned Belle to come look. Belle immediately started searching in the large books that she brought. Lauren looked for herself and felt a headache spreading behind her eyes. On her side, there was a large weird looking sign burned into her skin. What is happening to her? She felt tears burning in her eyes but she managed to keep them in. She wasn't going to cry. Not right now anyway.  
The pirate came in and held a dreamcatcher in the air. "Got it", he said looking at Lauren. "Wow, nobody said anything about taking of our clothes." The joke he was making faded away by the knowledge of what truly was happening. "Bloody hell, what did that thing do to you?"  
Belle made a mumbling noise which made everyone look at her. "I know what it means. It's the sign of divinity. It means she's related to a Greek God of some kind. It could be any Greek God."  
Regina rolled her eyes. "If we give her her memories back, she can tell us herself. Give me that." She snapped the dreamcatcher out of Killians hand and sat down on the salon table right in front of Lauren. "Okay, listen to me. This might hurt. But I promise you, it won't take long."  
Henry saw the fear in Laurens eyes and sat down next to her offering her his hand. She lay her hand in his and he squeezed it to reassure her that she was going to be okay.  
"Wait," Belle said. "Shouldn't we cough her. "I'm sorry, Lauren, but you might be the daughter of a real evil god. It's just in case." Regina put a black weird looking wristband on Laurens wrist. "If you if fact have magic, you won't be able to use it with this thing on." Lauren nodded scared to death. She felt her side piercing again. "Aw!" Mary Margaret said. She had touched the sign. The tip of the finger that touched it showed a little black dot. "What did you do?" Regina sighed. "I touched the sign. What does that mean?" Belle immediately put her nose back in her books. Turned the pages like a crazy person. "In the meantime, let's get your memories back, shall we?" Regina waved the dreamcatcher over Laurens head.  
Lauren felt Henry squeezing her hand once more right before her whole sight went black.


End file.
